14 Dystopian Novels to Curl Up With at the End of Days

In an age where blatant lies are spun as #alternativefacts, it seems as though our current reality is truly stranger (and more dire) than fiction. For anyone with an enthusiasm for political allegories — or perhaps those looking for some handy apocalypse survival tips — we rounded up 14 classic and contemporary dystopian novels to enjoy from the comfort of your fallout shelter.

Written in 1949, this best-selling novel is set in a totalitarian society in which citizens are barraged by government propaganda and forbidden from free thought. It follows Winston, one of the few who is conscious of the extreme gaslighting and rewriting of history taking place, as he joins an underground resistance to dismantle the oppressive regime.

This cult favorite, set in dystopian Japan, centers around a violent annual government program in which a randomly selected group of middle school students is dropped onto an isolated island, given weapons, and are made to fight each other to the death until there is one student remaining. Faced with this crisis, the students split into factions, with some forming gangs immediately out for blood, some collaborating to escape, and some desperate to survive and only killing in self-defense.

This controversial novel capitalizes on the brutality of high adolescent social expectations, with the vindictive students citing their unpopularity and past humiliations for revenge on their peers.

Published nine years after Battle Royale, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games may have a similar premise, with the post-apocalyptic Capitol of Panem randomly selecting 24 boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 from its various Districts to fight to the death. However, this story focuses more on the exploitative nature of the survival trials, by broadcasting it on live television and making sure the participants' charisma is just as important as their fighting abilities.

The book (and following two books in the series) centers around Katniss Everdeen, a strong, skilled, and likable teenager, who opts into the deadly game in place of her younger sister, who was originally selected.

Who watches the Watchmen? This powerful graphic novel illustrates the moral obligations and true motivations of a once-beloved group of vigilante superheroes, after they've been forced into retirement by the government. With the Doomsday clock ticking closer to midnight, and humanity's only hope leaving Earth (after being framed with a scandal)to contemplate life on Mars, this philosophical thriller confronts the devastating concept of "killing the few to save the many."

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But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past

It is easy for us to judge the actions of our ancestors, and wonder with horror how past generations could've ever allowed human rights atrocities to have ever occurred — but under what lens will the future view this era, and what detrimental lack of oversight will become intensely apparent generations from now?

This thought-provoking 2016 book by Chuck Klosterman delves into those and many more uncomfortable mind-bending questions. Not so much a novel as an exploration of our potential future, it prods at fundamental concepts that we generally regard as immutable, while stressing that they may actually be more fragile than we'd like to believe.

Gary Shteyngart's near-future dystopian novel depicts the strained relationship between Lenny, a middle-aged white man who's obsessed with achieving immortality, and Eunice, a young and materialistic Korean American woman, amidst the dismal backdrop of a consumer-dominated America on the brink of a major financial crisis. This searing political satire grapples with the ever-persistent ego in the face of inevitable ruin.

This upbeat adventure novel hits on a lot of fandoms — video games, '80s culture, virtual reality, with even a whiff of TheMatrix in its theme. It takes place in the bleak year 2044 where the virtual reality world, OASIS, provides a glorious, yet all-consuming respite from everyday life. Users can go to school, earn money, and interact with other avatars through the program.

Protagonist Wade Watts, who in the offline world lives in poverty, learns that the deceased creator of OASIS left Easter eggs in the program that if collected, would grant the finder his massive inheritance. The book follows Wade as he hunts down the remaining keys, solving the intricate puzzles and battling rivals along the way.

Aldous Huxley's classic 1932 novel is set primarily in dystopian London, which is part of a world state that functions under the precision of mass production (of humans and consumer goods), a harmonious caste system, and numbing of all unhappy feelings. When an outsider, John, is brought to London from his outlying Reservation, he is initially fascinated with this strange, sterilized way of living, then quickly learns the horrors of a society completely devoid of emotion surrounding sex, death, and the significance of life.

A Clockwork Orange steeps the reader in a deeply disturbing near-future dystopian world (written almost entirely in a slang called "nadsat"), where a teenager named Alex and his band of sadistic "droogs" live on a perpetual high of violently terrorizing innocent bystanders. Once imprisoned, he opts into a brutal reform process, evoking in the reader the same feelings of repulsion as Alex's original crimes. This novel serves as an allegory for extreme teenage violence, and the complications of free will, from the criminal's perspective.

This feminist-dystopian novel depicts the brutal fate of living under a totalitarian theocracy — a world called Gilead in which women are subjugated and have virtually no rights, valued only for their ability to procreate. It follows a handmaid named Offred who lives under this dictatorship, clinging to pieces of the past (like her real name, June) and the shreds of her former humanity which she is allowed only in secret.

Weaving together scathingly satirical themes encompassing race, religion, class, and social trends, Margaret Atwood's speculative fiction novel is a chilling depiction of the darkest possible timeline in the fight for women's rights.

We obviously couldn't pick just one Alan Moore graphic novel. V for Vendetta takes place following a devastating nuclear war, showing London's government replaced entirely by an oppressive fascist regime. It partly follows a masked anarchist who goes by "V," as well as a young girl named Evey who's lost her entire family to the nuclear holocaust, as he enlists her to help carry out his master plan to overthrow the government, kill all of its leaders, and give the power back to the people.

The Guy Fawkes mask that V wears has been co-opted as the symbol against tyranny, in all of its political forms.

If the last time you read Fahrenheit 451 was in grade school, you might find that it resonates on a profoundly deeper level in our current media-entrenched world. This classic novel depicts a future in which books are banned, due to the government's desire to suppress and manipulate its citizens. It follows Ray Montag, a fireman tasked with burning homes which contain books, until he meets a young girl who reads and gleans knowledge from literature in secret. Seeking a liberated existence, he too begins smuggling books, unable to revert back to his previous television-worshipping state.

This beloved children's book carries a powerful message of the importance of free will, imperfection, and most importantly, a remembrance of our history. In a homogenized utopian world where one's life is entirely predetermined from start to finish, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be his community's Receiver of Memories. Studying under an elderly man known as The Giver, he is the sole citizen who is enlightened to the true pain of the world, and the vibrant, yet complicated society that existed before the Sameness took over.

Published in 1935, this alternate-history novel by Sinclair Lewis was a rallying cry to Americans of that time to stay hyper-vigilant of radical government changes in policy amidst the threat of fascism. In the book, an charismatic populist senator campaigns entirely on fear-mongering and reinstating "traditional" values that America has lost — and promising every citizen $5,000.

Once elected president (beating out FDR), he implements a totalitarian regime, diminishing the role of Congress, curtailing the advancement of human rights causes, and sending his opponents to concentration camps. As the resistance is forced underground, the President's supporters admit that though these measures may be extreme, they are necessary steps to restore America's greatness. How's that for a cautionary tale?